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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Republican presidential candidates met in Las Vegas last night for the latest debate. As appropriate for the location, it was a wild evening with some of the nastiest fights ever between the candidates yet and even an appearance by Wayne Newton.

I've got the Twitter trending topics (from right after the debate ended) for you, and then some random little thoughts about the debate itself:

During the pre-debate commentary, I was very entertained to hear Wolf Blitzer comment that one minute answers and 30 second rebuttals were inadequate for thoughtful responses. Exactly! So can someone explain to me why all the debates are in this format?

Moderator Anderson Cooper took a hands-off approach, announcing at the beginning that there would be "no bells, no buzzers" and for the most part, he let the candidates go after each other...and they did. Talking over the time limits, directly interrogating each other, interruptions, even getting a bit physical, as Romney attempted to deflect a Perry attack by reaching over and putting his hand on Perry's shoulder:

Romney and Perry weren't the only ones to get a little scrappy. Santorum was especially shrill last night, and he got into a verbal sparring match with Romney as well. I kept expecting Anderson Cooper to come back from commercial break and announce that the candidates were going to start mud wrestling.

Romney did his best to hold it together and never completely melted down, but he was definitely flustered several times and it was not his best night. I have a feeling he will later regret letting such a juicy soundbite as "I'm running for office, I can't have illegals" escape his lips. Worst moment: when he whined to Cooper for help when he couldn't get Perry to shut up. Ugh...

Perry was better last night than he has been at previous debates (as Erick Erickson commented, "Where has this Rick Perry been?"), and he landed a solid blow on Romney on the immigration issue. I'm not convinced it's enough to resuscitate his campaign, especially in Florida, but he at least avoided doing himself any more significant damage. Having met Perry (albeit briefly) in Charleston, I know he is a likable and sincere guy, but he is still having trouble showing his strengths when on a national stage. Plus, there's that unfortunate "sometimes reminds people of George W. Bush" problem:

As a political junkie, I own a lot of political books, including several by the current presidential candidates (like this current best seller, for example). However, I am sick and tired of listening to the candidates bickering back and forth about what was said in whose book. Yaaaawn. None of these books are so relevant that they deserved as much debate time as they've been getting. Tell me about what you've accomplished in the past, tell me what your plans are for the future, but please, please, please, shut up about the books!

And, ooh, poor Jon Huntsman. Can't get anyone to take him seriously. Lots of people joking on twitter about how last night was his "best debate performance yet." (ICYMI: Huntsman was not there.)

Bachmann apparently learned nothing from her crash and burn in the polls after misrepresenting the Gardisil issue when she was attacking Perry, as tonight she stubbornly kept calling Cain's 9-9-9 Plan a Value Added Tax. It is NOT. A sales tax and a VAT are not the same thing. You'd think a tax attorney would understand that, but she pulled the broken record routine and kept insisting that Cain's plan would lead to a VAT.

Romney did a similar dance of misdirection when he grilled Cain on the difference between state sales taxes and the federal sales tax under the 9-9-9 Plan. Cain pointed out that state sales taxes are a separate thing and out of the federal government's control with a simple analogy - "it's apples and oranges!" - and Romney kept acting confused and demanding that Cain explain himself. Personally, I didn't buy his act. Romney knows darn well the difference between state and federal taxes, and was just trying to make 9-9-9 sound more confusing than it really is.

Apples and oranges, state and federal taxes = NOT THE SAME THINGS.

Herman Cain stayed strong and didn't blink, despite all the attacks on his 9-9-9 Plan. The plan is appealing to a lot of Americans because of its simplicity, and apparently a lot of people are listening to his invitation to study the plan on their own: when Cain asked viewers to look up the plan on hermancain.com, the website crashed for awhile, reminiscent of how the site was crashing during the excitement after the Florida straw poll win. People like Cain, the "great optimist," and when he says "go to my website," they go. Should be fun to see what happens in a few months when he says "go vote for me!" Heh.

Newt Gingrich should be getting his official Smartest Guy In The Room™ t-shirt any day now.There is an amazing library of knowledge between his ears, and he accesses the information with ease. His answer about Hispanic Americans was right on (pointing out that the vast majority of them are here legally, and want the same things as all Americans), and even his answer to a faith question was sincere and thoughtful.

This was another virtuoso debate performance by Newt Gingrich. My favorite Newtism: that he was a "Cheap Hawk," meaning that he supported a strong national defense program, but was certainly willing to make cuts to eliminate waste and fraud. Alas, Gingrich continues to be held back the most by Gingrich. Beyond the personal stuff...just Google his name and "scozzafava" or "pelosi global warming" and you'll see plenty of reasons why conservatives are hesitant.

Bachmann is also getting tiresome. Tim Pawlenty may not be in the race anymore, but he did everyone a service by pointing out the reality of her time in Congress: she may say she's a tough fighter, but she unfortunately has few concrete legislative accomplishments to show for it. It's sad to see a former tea party hero becoming a joke (I'm not the only one who rolls my eyes every time she starts a sentence reminding the audience that she's a mother).